The recent rediscovery of the Gospel of Mary, having been lost to the world for fourteen centuries, feels like a terma treasure for our time. As a text attributed to a woman, and more focussed on direct personal experience than reliance on external hierarchies or rules,  it speaks to a 21st century Western spirituality more comfortably than it did to some of our forefathers.

Several of the themes covered will already be familiar to Buddhist practitioners. For example, the book includes an explanation of the interdependent and temporary nature of existence, recognition of which is shown as a step on the path to liberation from ignorance and attachment. It gives us an opportunity to explore parallels between this branch of the early Church and Buddhist teachings, and perhaps to reconnect with forgotten aspects of our Christian heritage. 

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Rinpoche says: “You should explore Christianity and any other path but no need to choose one from the other. I feel that those who need to choose one and leave the other do not really understand the spiritual path at all. We should learn from them all and use them on ourselves. We should also learn not to be misguided by the negative side of any system and individual.”